20,000 PCSO-run establishments stop operation
Around 20,000 lotto stores and other Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office-licensed game establishments were closed down, according to the Philippine National Police on Sunday.
As of July 28, Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac said they already served closure notices to 5,187 lotto outlets, 13,320 small town lottery (STL), 2,194 Peryahan ng Bayan (PNB) and 472 Keno outlets.
"Following the order of the President (Rodrigo Duterte), the PNP has already served closure notices to the following business establishments with franchises, licenses, and concessions granted by the PCSO nationwide," Banac said in a statement.
The police spokesperson said Police General Oscar Albayalde is urging all other similar establishments that have not been visited yet by police to refrain from engaging and voluntarily close down their business.
"The PNP remains vigilant to prevent occurrence of crimes and ready to respond to any call for help during crisis, calamity or emergency," said Banac.
In a text message to reporters, Banac said they have yet to receive the actual data from PCSO on the total number of outlets granted by them.
"We are hoping that all (outlets) will just voluntarily comply so that we can immediately reach 100 percent (closure)," he said.
On Saturday, the PNP chief visited lotto outlets in Baguio City and personally ordered them to stop their operations.
In a radio interview, Banac said police placed close sign on outlets that are still not yet open during their operation.
"Those who did not open voluntarily, we placed closed signs. Those who opened, we told them to close (their establishments)," he said.
Last Friday evening, Duterte ordered the closure of all franchised and licensed PCSO games due to alleged corruption. Ella Dionisio/DMS
